State gears up to go all-electronic on tolls

Monday

Apr 28, 2014 at 12:01 AMApr 28, 2014 at 8:23 AM

By Brian BensonDaily News Staff

As the state Department of Transportation gears up to begin implementing all-electronic tolling on the Massachusetts Turnpike and at the Tobin Bridge and Boston Harbor tunnels, two local leaders have mixed views on the project."Positively, the electronic tolling will help promote efficiencies and safety and hopefully ease some of the traffic congestion," said state Sen. Karen Spilka, D-Ashland.But Spilka said she also worries it is a sign tolls are here for the long-term on the Pike, something that is concerning especially if tolls are not added to other major roads.The state Department of Transportation plans to have its first all-electronic tolling system operating on the Tobin Bridge later this year through a $2.47 million project, agency spokesman Michael Verseckes said in an email."There will be a period of testing the system to ensure it properly functions before the existing tolling equipment and booths are removed and demolished," Verseckes said.MassDOT will then convert the Turnpike and harbor tunnels. Those systems are expected to be effective by the summer of 2016.The equipment and 10 years of maintenance are expected to cost about $120 million. MassDOT also faces a monthly charge totaling an estimated $258 million over 10 years."Aside from the estimated cost of converting to the all-electronic system, maintenance of the system and back office operations, MassDOT is expecting to save $50 million annually by eliminating its current cash collection expenses such as payroll and associated benefits, toll plaza facility utilities and upkeep, equipment maintenance and replacement, and toll collection software upgrades," Verseckes said.The electronic tolling gantries will be installed along the main highway as opposed to exits. The system will read E-ZPass transponders. If a car does not have a transponder, its license plate will be recorded and the person to whom the car is registered will receive a bill in the mail.MassDOT is proposing installing gantries between most exits along the Pike. But exits clustered close together such as those in the Worcester and Springfield areas will not have gantries between them."The new locations were selected in part to shift more of the burden on pass-through traffic, and reduce the burden on drivers that may use I-90 for short distances," Verseckes said.Jessica Strunkin, deputy director of the 495/MetroWest Partnership, said she hopes the shift to electronic tolling will help spur more investments at major interchanges since MassDOT will need to do some work anyway to remove tollbooths.Verseckes said the existing tollbooths at Pike interchanges will be removed and lanes will be reconfigured, which should reduce congestion.MassDOT plans in the future to tackle more substantial changes to several areas including heavily-traveled spots such as the Allston-Brighton toll plaza, I-90 and I-95 in Weston, I-91/I-90/I-291 in the Springfield/Chicopee area, and I-90 and I-495 in Hopkinton/Westborough.Strunkin said state leaders will need to look carefully at the effect of removing tollbooths at the 495/90 interchange to ensure the intersection does not become more dangerous."At the same time, (switching to electronic tolling) represents an opportunity to address some of the bigger challenges relative to congestion at that interchange," Strunkin said.Strunkin said all-electronic tolling will make it more efficient for drivers and MassDOT, but the fundamental problem of toll equity still exists since drivers on the Pike pay tolls while other major highways such as Interstate 93 are not tolled."Clearly moving toward all-electronic tolling is important but, overall we’re opposed to the inequity," Strunkin said.Spilka said she has pushed and will continue to push for ensuring toll revenue is spent on the road it is collected on and solving the toll inequity issue.MassDOT completed a report looking at tolling other roads, though Spilka said she worries it brings up many concerns and problems with tolls elsewhere.Spilka said she has written a letter to MassDOT seeking more information on tolling and toll revenue.Transportation Secretary Richard Davey in an editorial board meeting last month said he does not foresee tolls being removed on the Pike west of Rte. 128 since the highway likely will not be in a state of good repair when bonds for the roadway are paid off in 2017.The state has completed paving and other projects. But Davey said there are still many bridges that need to be replaced among other projects on the highway, which is in better shape than many other state roads.Davey, though, said "I completely get we have an equity issue (with tolls) we need to address."Brian Benson can be reached at 508-626-3964 or bbenson@wickedlocal.com. Follow him on Twitter @bbensonmwdn.

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